of gold and shadows – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Michelle Griep
Publisher: Bethany House
Release Date: September 24th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In 1888 Victorian England, Ami Dalton navigates a clandestine dual life. By day, she strives to establish herself as a respected Egyptologist, overcoming the gender biases that permeate academia. But with a heart for rescuing black-market artifacts, she is most often disguised as her alter ego, the Shadow Broker. After eight years in India, Oxford’s most eligible bachelor, Edmund Price, has come out of the shadows to run for Parliament and is in search of an Egyptologist to value a newly acquired collection. Expecting a renowned Oxford professor, Edmund instead finds himself entangled with Ami, the professor’s determined daughter. As they delve into the treasures, their connection deepens, but trouble emerges when a golden griffin–rumored to bear the curse of Amentuk–surfaces and they’re left to wonder if the curse really is at play, or if something more nefarious is hiding among the shadows. . . . Award-winning author Michelle Griep weaves a tale of love, mystery, and intrigue set against the backdrop of the gaslit streets of Oxford, England.

Thank you Bethany House for the gifted copy.

THOUGHTS.

I think this was a good book overall and it does have its audience. I do think that the audience isn’t quite me. Some aspects didn’t work for me, but some did.

I liked most of the scenes involving the two main leads, Ami and Edmund. There’s a lot of moments for them to get to know each other and when a book only has one main kissing scene you want it to deliver and it does. I thought they had wonderful chemistry. I also thought the historical aspects were interesting too.

It is a standalone and wraps up most things well. There was one plot point that threw me off about closing part of the story, the rest was good though. The faith elements were fairly well woven in too. It is a more moderate theme throughout.

Overall audience notes: